Purees 101 – Pear Puree

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Pears are a great addition to any homemade baby food repertoire.  It’s one of the first fruits I gave my kiddos because it’s not only jam packed with nutrients, but tastes darn good too!  Pear puree is super easy to make and goes well with lots of other flavors as well.  

Now, I must admit I’m not someone who ever loved eating a raw pear.  In a salad, maybe, but not to bite into and devour…I’m more of an apple girl. But my kids love pears and I’m going to guess that it was because of the early exposure they had with this pear puree.

If you’ve been here long, you’ll know that I made all of my own baby food.  Not because I think you have to raise healthy kids, but rather, because I loved doing it.  With my Vitamix by my side I felt like I could do it simply, and I did.  

Want to learn more about making your own baby food? Check out my ultimate guide let me know what you think!  Want someone to help you through the process? I’m available for in home and virtual lessons, just reach out and lets chat.

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What makes pears so good for you?

Pears are a great self-contained, nutrient dense fruit.  They are full of good for you antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.  Well known being a low glycemic fruit, they won’t lead to a spike in blood sugar.  Eating the peel also gives a good boost of flavonoids (another type of antioxidants).  This is where the color in the pear peel comes from and a good reminder to always eat the rainbow.

Pears are an awesome source of both soluble and insoluble fiber which aids in your babies digestion and can help with constipation.  For adults, they are good for overall digestive health. I was once told that the “P” fruits are the ones you should turn to when you need to help babies and toddlers (and big kids too) ease constipation.  Think peaches, plums, pears, and prunes. 

What type of pear is best for making into a puree?

There are three types of pears that are easily found in your local grocery store. Any of them will work for roasting or cooking for this pear puree.

• Bartlett: use for cooking or roasting
• Anjou: use for cooking or roasting
• Bosc: use for roasting

For lots of good information on picking the right kind of pear for cooking, check out this information from Bake From Scratch. 

How do you make pear puree?

Pear puree can go two different ways. Either cooked on the stove top (much like you would do when making applesauce) or roasted in the oven.  Both methods yield a delicious final puree, with just slightly different flavor profiles. While I normally like to roast fruits to bring out the sweetness, pears really can go either way.

If you are roasting the pears here’s what you’ll want to do.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper (this is the link to my favorite, it’s the Costco brand, but you can get it on Amazon without a membership).

Slice the pears and lay out on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with spice and then roast for about 25 minutes, until soft and browning around the edges.

Once done, place roasted pears in the blender and add a tablespoon of water at a time and puree to desired consistency.

If you are cooking the pears on the stove top here’s what you’ll want to do.

Wash and cut up the pears into medium sized chunks. Add them to a medium sized pot, with about 4 Tablespoons of water, whatever spices you’d like and cover. Cook over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, or until the pears are just starting to break down a bit. You may want to stir the pot once or twice while cooking to make sure everything cooks evenly.

Once the pears are cooked, you’ll transfer them to a high speed blender (remember, I love my Vitamix) and blend until you reach the desired consistency.  Add a little bit of the cooking liquid as needed to get the consistency you like. You’ll want to puree super smooth younger babies and any consistency you like for older babies, toddlers and adults.

Tips and Tricks:

Pear puree is great to serve with other purees or soft foods.  This is any easy fruit to pair with anything from green vegetables to greek yogurt, rice to oatmeal.   It also goes well with the following:

• Oatmeal: either use fresh puree or a frozen cube mixed in real soft cooked oatmeal
• Edamame: pair with an edamame cube for a sweet and nutritious dense meal
• Rice: add pear puree to soft rice with a dash of cinnamon for a filling, sweet treat for babies

This isn’t a puree only for little ones! The big kids and adults around here like it too.  For bigger kids, I serve pear sauce (like applesauce but with pears). You can spice up the pear sauce with cinnamon, ginger and vanilla for a really cozy side dish or even dessert. For the adults, check out this honey roasted pear cocktail 🍹.

Looking for other simple baby food that your whole family will love? Check out these recipes:

• cherry puree
• carrot puree
• black bean puree

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